Weiser track team looks ready for SRV District meet

The Weiser High School boys and girls track teams finished strong at the Pilgrim Invitational at New Plymouth on Friday, posting numerous personal records in track and field events.
    The Weiser boys placed fourth out of a field of 13 teams, while the girls took second place behind winner Nampa Christian.
    Weiser senior Rhett Kunz took second place in the 200 meters, a race he has competed in only a couple of times this season. He finished in 23.67 seconds, a fraction of a second behind Nampa Christian’s Ethan Brands, who won with a time of 23.20 seconds.
    Kunz’s best race is the 400 meters, and he placed first again at New Plymouth with a season-best time of 51.45 seconds.
    In the 800 meters, Nathan Turner placed eighth for the Wolverines with a time of 2:12.31. Weiser didn’t have a placer in the top 10 of the 1,600 meters or 3,200 meters.
    Weiser has been strong in the boys hurdles this season. Nick Swank took fourth place in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 17.43 seconds. Travis Schimmel placed ninth with a time of 18.54 seconds.
    In the 300-meter hurdles Braden Bumgarner took third place with a time of 43.44 seconds. Swank placed seventh with a time of 45.45 seconds.
    In the relay events, the Weiser boys placed seventh in the 4x100 and fourth in the 4x200. In the 4x400, the Wolverines took second place behind winner Nampa Christian. In the SMR 1,600 meters (200, 200, 400, 800) the Weiser team of Triston Kautz, Nathan Turner, Braden Bumgarner and Rhett Kunz placed first in 3:49.35.
    In field events, Angel Magana finished in the top 10 with a toss of 38 feet, 6.75 inches in the shot put. The throw earned him ninth place. Magana placed second in the discus out of a field of 48 competitors with a personal record throw of 129 feet, 2 inches.
    In his third event of the afternoon, Weiser sophomore Nick Swank won fifth place in the high jump by clearing 5 feet, 10 inches. Jordan Watkins was Weiser’s top finisher in the long jump at 11th place with a jump of 17 feet, 6 inches.
    Nate Turner and Watkins placed eighth and ninth in the triple jump. Turner jumped 37 feet, 11.25 inches and Watkins jumped 37 feet, 7.25 inches.
    Highlights for the Weiser girls included:
    In the 100 meters, freshman Ashlyn Walker finished in eighth place with a time of 14.38 seconds. Teammate SeAnna Jones ran the race in 14.53 seconds and earned 10th place.
    The Weiser girls did not have a top 10 finisher in either the 200 meters, 400 meters or 800 meters.
    In the longer distances, freshman Kiearra Hoobery took ninth place in the 1,600 meters with a time of 6:25.17, a personal best time for her. Makaela Sherry finished in 10th place with a time of 6:26.35, which was also her best race of the year.
    Sherry had another good race in the 3,200 meters, finishing sixth with a time of 13:55.02. Hoobery came in ninth place with a time of 14:28.31.
    The Weiser girls also have been strong in the hurdles. In the 100 meters, Jade Simonsen came in second with a personal best time of 16.83 seconds. Ellie Walker took seventh place with a time of 18.64 seconds.
    Walker placed fourth in the 300 meters (51.74 seconds) and Simonsen took eighth place with a time of 54.41 seconds.
    In the relay races, the Weiser girls placed fourth in the 4x100 meters and third in the 4x200 meters. The girls also took third in the 4x400 meters. The team of Alissa Eastis, Hannah Hansen, Mja Towner and Suzanne Cannon won the SMR 100-100-200-400 meters event in 2:07.18.
    In field events, Sheyanne Hilmer had another good meet, placing second in the shot put with a toss of 29 feet, 1.5 inches. She was only three inches short of the winner’s toss of 29 feet, 4 inches. Other Weiser girls included Yerika Marquez (26 feet, 5 inches, 10th), Judith Rios (26 feet, 1.5 inches, 11th) and Ellie Eames (25 feet, 11 inches, 14th).
    Yerika Marquez had a personal record throw in the discus and won the event. Her winning toss was 94 feet. Hilmer took third place with a throw of 88 feet, 10 inches.
    Weiser’s Jade Simonsen placed ninth in the high jump by clearing 4 feet, 2 inches. Teammate Victoria Wyss finished in 10th place.
    In the pole vault, LynnZ Rasmussen had a personal record vault of 9 feet for third place. Reagan Doty also vaulted 9 feet for fourth place. Victoria Wyss placed 10th with a vault of 7 feet.
    Weiser had three top 10 finishers in the long jump: Ashlyn Walker (14 feet, 10 inches, 4th), Bella Strasser (13 feet, 10.5 inches, 7th) and Kaija Sanchez (13 feet, 6 inches, 9th).
    Weiser’s Ellie Walker won the triple jump with a season-best jump of 33 feet, 8.5 inches. Kaija Sanchez finished in eighth place with a jump of 29 feet, 5.25 inches.